


Loud Whispers

by BananaPeaceMonkeyKarmi



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Best Friends, Betrayal, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Familial Abuse, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Secrets, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-21
Packaged: 2017-12-10 09:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaPeaceMonkeyKarmi/pseuds/BananaPeaceMonkeyKarmi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything was an uncertainty and nothing was true. What was going on? Why was this happening? She didn't know anymore. She felt like she didn't know anything anymore. Originally posted on Fanfiction.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jade

_**Loud Whispers I - Jade** _

_This has to be the worst day of my life._

No, Vincent had to remind himself. Every day was the worst of his life.

He sighed, packing the last of his things into a brown box. He was moving.  _Moving!_ Why, he wasn't sure; hell if his parents told him the reason. But now he was being forced to leave the only life he knew, the only people he knew.

Sure, Vincent Valentine didn't have a lot of friends, but that was because he chose not to. Kept to himself. Of the few he did have, there was one in particular who was important to him. She was a sweet girl, and the only person here who knew about the activities in his household. She was a good friend, and now that Vincent thought about her…  _I don't want to leave her._ She was the only one who cared – the only person he allowed to care, because she was the only person he let know.

 _This sucks._ He couldn't just leave. He had to say goodbye to her.

"Hey! Hurry… hurry up!"

Vincent looked up to see his father in the doorway, carrying a box. He was more stable on his feet than usual, but the boy could tell when his father had been drinking out of the flask. The man kept walking, followed by a woman with brown hair, Vincent's mother. She didn't even look at him, carrying a few things of her own. The boy snorted, taping up the box, looking around his room. He never had much, so his room was always empty. But this… this hit him even harder. Shaking his head, he lifted his window, climbing out of the building.

He stayed to the alleys, not wanting anyone to see him, to stop him. He didn't have time. He had to see her now, before he left for good.

It didn't take long before he was at her house. Her backyard was covered in colors – different flowers that she liked to plant. He was careful as he walked around them, picking up a few small rocks along the way. Vincent stopped short of the house, throwing the rocks up at a second floor window. After four hit their mark, a girl came to it. She smiled, waved, and then disappeared from sight again.

Soon enough, she was exiting the back door of the house, running up to him, her chestnut hair swinging in a long braid behind her.

"Hi Vincent!" she said excitedly, throwing her arms around his waist. He winced, but returned the hug.

When she pulled away, he stared into her green orbs as they grew more concerned.

"Oh no…" A hand lifted to his face, resting on a fresh bruise on his cheek. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm okay. I just wanted…" He looked away. He didn't know how to say it –  _"Goodbye"_ to the only good thing he really had.

She made him look at her, a heartfelt smile on her face. "What's wrong Vincent? Please tell me."

He sighed. "I'm… I'm moving Aerith." Her brow furrowed; she didn't understand. "I'm leaving Kalm. I don't even know where we're moving to…"

He could see them – the tears that he knew were going to come. They had yet to fall, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

"But… why? Why do you have to go?" She looked at the ground.

"I don't know. They won't tell me."

"Is it because I know?" Aerith's head shot back up, her eyes wide. "Is that why? I promise, I haven't told anybody! I won't tell anyone! I promise!"

He smiled sadly, squeezing the hand she wouldn't let go of. "No. It's not that. They don't know that you know. It's not you. I… I don't know what it is."

A tear rolled down her face then. "When… when are you leaving?"

Vincent bit his lip. "To-today. Soon."

Aerith gasped. "What? B-but  _why_? So… so soon. An-and you didn't tell me…!" She started to sob.

He didn't want this to happen, even though he knew it would. "Aerith… I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I-I didn't know until today either! I woke up this morning, and my parents were packing stuff, and they just told me to get ready to go. To pack my stuff too! I'm sorry…"

She hugged him again, tighter than before. "No! I don't want you to go! I don't want them to hurt you anymore…"

He hugged her back, feeling the stinging in his eyes. "I don't want to go either Aeri," he said quietly. That was the first time he realized just how… scared he was, to leave. To be somewhere with his parents alone. Here, he wasn't alone; he had Aerith. But… but wherever they went, he would be all by himself, no one to help him. His hold on her grew tighter then, and she responded in the same way.

The door opened, and he opened his eyes to see Elmyra. Aerith pulled away, but refused to let him go, looking at her mother.

"Aerith, honey, why are you crying? Vincent, what's wrong? Are you alright?" She bent down, taking Aerith's hand.

He knew she noticed the bruise as well.

"I'm okay. I just – I fell down the stairs to our backyard."

"Mommy, Vinnie's moving! He's leaving!"

"Vincent?" He nodded when Elmyra looked at him. "Oh Aerith, it'll be okay."

"No it won't! I don't want Vincent to leave!" She hugged him again, crying. Elmyra couldn't understand why she was being so hysterical, but he knew. She'd already said it.

"Where are you moving to dear?"

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know Ms Gainsborough. My parents didn't say…"

"Mommy, can Vincent stay with us? Can he stay here, please? I don't want him to go."

She sighed, smiling reassuringly. "Honey, I don't think so…" No, Elmyra didn't know what was going on, but she was aware that his parents weren't the nicest people. "Hey, it'll be okay. Vincent, you know our address. How about you write, or call? That way, you and Aerith can still talk." She looked at her daughter. "How does that sound to you?"

Aerith gulped, nodding. "Will you write me letters?"

He smiled. "I'll try. Promise."

"Okay…"

Vincent looked at his watch. He hadn't noticed how long he had been here. "Oh no… I have to go. I'm sorry."

Aerith squeezed him tight, finally letting him go. "Okay. Please write me. Or… or call. Please Vinnie."

He smiled at her, nodding. "I promise Aeri."

"I wish you luck dear, wherever you go. And I'll make sure Aerith contacts you when you let us know where you are, okay?" Elmyra smiled, hugging him as well. "Goodbye sweetheart."

"Goodbye Ms Gainsborough. Bye Aerith."

He waved as he ran off, but he hated the way he left her – clinging to her mother, wiping her eyes, waving after him.

"Goodbye Vincent! I'll talk to you later!" she called after him.

He knew that wouldn't happen. He knew that, no matter how much he might want to, he wouldn't be able to talk to her again.

_This sucks so much._

He wished he could stay, live with her. Elmyra was always so kind to him, so inviting. Who was going to treat him that way now?

When he got home, trouble was waiting. His parents were standing in the backyard, knowing he'd slipped out of his window. He stopped on the edge of the yard, not wanting to go near them, knowing what would happen. Seeing them there together, waiting for him… He felt his hands shaking at his sides. Vincent liked to think that they didn't scare him, he liked to say that out loud, but in his mind, the fear was evident. Prominent.

He didn't take a step – didn't dare to. He knew that the longer he stood there, the angrier they got, and the worse the punishment would be when it finally came. Even thinking this, he just couldn't move. Frozen in place by the fear he wouldn't speak of.

"Vincent, honey, come here."

His mother's words were like acid. They weren't reassuring and kind like they were when Elmyra spoke them. They might as well not even be the same words.

"Come here Vincent."

Her voice was harsher then, her patience evidently thinning.  _No. You'll only hurt me._ He wanted to turn and run, run back to Aerith's house and stay with her, but he couldn't. His parents always told him, _promised_ him, that if he ever told anyone, they would get hurt.  _I don't want Aeri to get hurt. I don't want Ms Gainsborough to get hurt._

Vincent closed his eyes, wishing he were somewhere else. Anywhere else.  _Away from them, and with Aerith._ That would be the perfect life. If they were gone forever, and he was only with the people – the person – who cared about him the most.

But when he opened his eyes, he was still standing at the edge of his former backyard.

And now his father was storming towards him.

The thought rushed through his mind again, running, but he couldn't. He was rooted there, stuck to await his doom. Soon enough, he was thrust to the ground by a hard smack across his bruised cheek. Brison grabbed Vincent's collar, hefting him up and staring him in the face. The former's eyes were blood-shot, not the same red as the boy's.

"When your mother calls you, when we tell you to come here, you come.  _Do you understand me?_ "

Vincent nodded.

Brison threw him back down. "Now get up and come on. We have to leave, now." He hiccupped, stomping away from the boy. Summer turned on her heel, following after her husband.

Vincent stood up shakily, rubbing the dirt off of his pants. He bit his lip, hung his head, and started to walk toward the house.

"Vinnie?"

He whipped around, staring at the alleyway. A small head poked out around the corner, green eyes and chestnut brown hair.

"What are you doing here? You'll get in trouble!"

Aerith ran up to him, hugging him again. "No,  _you'll_  get in trouble, but I don't want that." She let him go, holding out her hand. "I just wanted to give you this."

He took the object, a small bracelet with little jade pieces. His eyes widened as he looked at her, her gaze on his face. "I can't take this Aeri. It's your favorite bracelet!"

She smiled. "I know. That's why I'm giving it to you."

" _Vincent!"_

He turned around, but looked back to his best friend. "I-I can't."

"Yes you can." She squeezed his hand, folding it over the piece of jewelry. "You have to. Now go, before you get in more trouble!"

Vincent smiled at her, turning around to leave. But before he could, he faced his friend again, hugging her as tight as he could, before running off.

She watched him go, the bracelet now in his pocket. She knew it was better that way; his parents might take it if they saw it.

She also knew that, even though he promised he would, he couldn't write her. Or call her. He couldn't let her know where he was. His parents were secretive like that.  _I'll never see him again._ The thought caused a huge lump in her throat, one that she couldn't swallow, no matter how hard she tried.  _There's nothing I can do._ Another tear rolled down her face as she lowered her head, walking back home.

_**/~/**  
_

_Gosh it's hot. I wonder if it's like this where we're going. Maybe we're going to live in Corel._

Vincent had heard that the town was nearly deserted; it had been ravaged by a gas fire, or so he learned in school during Fire Safety week.  _Wouldn't that be just great._

He sighed, still staring out of the back of the moving buggy. It was a pretty uneventful ride so far. Once outside of Kalm, they passed by the chocobo farm. It rained terribly from there to Junon, water leaking in the caravan through a small hole in the roof. From then, a cargo boat took them to Costa del Sol, and another buggy was rented once they got to the sunny city. They rode on continuously; his parents didn't want to stop. The drivers took turns.

At the moment, he and his parents were riding in one buggy together; the other held most of their things. He sat with his chin in the palm of his hand, elbow resting on the back window. He was bored; there was nothing to do, as could be expected, but there was also no one to talk to. No one to call or anything. His parents didn't own cell phones; they thought they would be better off that way. Even if they did, he wouldn't dare ask to use it.

 _I want to talk to Aerith._ He missed his friend terribly. He knew he would, but now the feeling was almost unbearable. He was left alone with his thoughts in this caravan, and they always brought him back to her. Turning around, he tried to search for something to write or play with, something to occupy his mind.

Summer was leaning against the wall where she sat, in a daze. Brison was asleep, snoring obnoxiously. But, Vincent expected this.  _Not even a ride with other people could make them stop, even for a few days._

Trees began to appear in his view, with a river running from a forest to his right. Even that didn't interest him in the least. Maybe when he saw other life to reassure him that there was  _something_ else out there other than him and his parents, he might feel better.

_Ugh. I'd give anything to get out of this buggy!_

The terrain became more unstable, and the vehicle began to rock back and forth.

"Stay steady y`all! Sorry about that!"

Vincent barely heard the driver's words over the deafening silence. He was trying not to think of where he was at the moment.  _Where are we going?_ He prayed his parents weren't moving them to some shack house out in the middle of nowhere. His eyes widened slightly, and his body tensed at the thought.

_Like Huck Finn._

What if they were? What if his parents were like Finn's dad, and hid him away so they wouldn't have to worry about anybody finding him?

" _I don't want them to hurt you anymore!"_

He remembered Aerith's small voice muffled by his shirt a couple of days before. Without even realizing it, he shrank back into his seat near the window, glancing at Summer and Brison. Both were passed out now, he could tell. His breathing quickened, became heavier the more he thought about what was going to happen.  _Oh no. That… that can't happen to me! No!_ He tried to calm himself, shaking as he reached for the window again. It was then that he saw a few buildings in view, a tall water tower the most prominent of them all. The river ran in front of the town.

The buggy drew closer to it.  _Is that where we're going?_ He hoped so. He  _prayed_ they were going to live surrounded by other people.

But just as got his hopes up, the buggy turned.

Vincent gasped. He looked at his parents again, concluding that they might be too out of it to notice, so he tip-toed past them to get near the driver.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes m`boy?"

"Where are we going again?"

"Your folks said Nibelheim. It's that town right there, but they wanted me to go around and come in toward the southside."

"Oh. Okay then. Thank you… sir."

"No problem."

So, they  _were_ going to live there! A small smile crept onto his face, but he kept it hidden. Looking outside again, he saw two children playing in the river right outside of town. They stopped at the sight of the buggy, and Vincent only stared back at them. Soon enough, their figures disappeared behind the trees.

"What the hell you staring at boy?"

Vincent turned around to see Brison up, swaying slightly in his seat. The boy shook his head, indicating nothing, and Brison growled. Shaking Summer, the man got up and made his way to the window. Vincent involuntarily retracted himself into his seat, trying to get as far out of his father's way as possible.

"We're nearly to the house now. That took long enough." Turning to Vincent he grumbled, "Get ready. And you better stick around and help us unpack."

Vincent didn't respond to the command. He sat there, his knees raised to his chest as he thought about what awaited him in Nibelheim. He wondered if the kids were nice there.  _I hope there's some way I can tell Aeri where I am._ Too bad they had never established some secret code.  _Like a smoke language in the stories._ He sighed again.

The buggy jerked to a halt. The driver got out, and Brison undid the latch on the door so the rest of them could depart from the vehicle as well.

"Well, there ya go!"

Vincent gazed upon the other houses on the street. They were mostly one story, and not too great in shape either. His wasn't much different; a pale green with a white door. Just about in the same shape as his last home.

_House. Never my home._

He reached into his pockets, his fingers wrapping around the bracelet he was forced to take. It was the best he had.

"Welcome to Nibelheim folks."

 


	2. Mountains and Mansions

_**Loud Whispers II – Mountains and Mansions** _

"What the heck is she doing…?"

A blond boy stood in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by lush green grass that soon gave way to tall, sturdy trees. Currently, his best friend was in one of them.

"Come on Tifa! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

He heard her low giggles to his right, and spun around to see if he would catch a glimpse of her. Of course, by now, he thought he should know better. If she didn't want him to see her, he wasn't going to. Tifa was in her element now, amongst the high trees with their millions of branches that seemed to go on forever.

Her laughter fluttered through the air once more, and he couldn't help but smile. He wanted her to enjoy herself, but he didn't want her to get hurt.  _Yeah, cause her dad will blame me again._

The thought made his smile falter.

"Cloud! Bet you can't find me!"

"I know I can't find you! Can you just come down already?"

There was some rustling somewhere, but he couldn't tell from which direction. Cloud stood still, waiting for his friend, apprehension tensing the muscles in his body. Every time he knew she was getting ready to come down (anytime she was up in the trees at  _all_ ), he was always afraid that she would fall.

But, like always, Tifa landed in front of him with as much grace as any feline. She stood up straight, dusting off her ripped pants and dirt-stained shirt. When she looked up at him, her face had smears of dirt on it as well. He laughed at her. She didn't care.

"What are you so scared of?" she demanded of him.

Cloud shrugged, unable to answer.

She scoffed, looking around the clearing. "Well, it's not like there's anyone here. No people… no adults… certainly not Papa…"

Cloud just shrugged again. She knew the answer, he knew she did. The way she looked back at him told him she did, so he wasn't going to say it out loud. It hurt enough even to think it.

Her smile grew slightly sadder. "Hey. No matter what, you're still my best friend. I promise!"

His mouth curved upward again. "I promise too."

Tifa threw her hands into the air. "Hooray!" Turning toward the path, she shouted, "I'll race you to the river!"

He yelled after her as he ran, "You know that's a race you can't win!"

He thanked the powers above that Tifa made her way through the more secluded areas of town. He already knew what would have happened had they traveled through some place like the town center: people staring, whispering, saying things and asking themselves,

" _Why is she with him?"_

The thought made him furious, his feet hitting the dirt faster than it had been before. They were just children! Why couldn't people just leave them alone?

He had to toss those feelings away. Why should he care? Tifa was his friend and she enjoyed his company. That would just have to be enough.

It took Cloud a moment to notice just how… far ahead he had gotten. He stopped just feet away from the river that was located right outside of town to wait on her. She came jogging up behind him, stopping and doubling over to catch her breath.

"You okay?"

She only nodded, holding up a hand so that she could have a minute of reprieve. Cloud understood, standing next to her as she panted.

But before he knew it, Tifa was running ahead of him once again, surging for the river.

"Not fair!" he called, running to catch her.

The water was only ankle deep where they were. Tifa splashed in it, turning back around and sticking her tongue out at him. "I said a race to the  _river._  Not 'a race to the pebbles right  _before_  the river.' Don't you listen?"

He slowed his pace to a walk. "I'm never waiting on you again."

"Sore loser!" Tifa started to laugh, but ended up hacking, bent over once more. She began to sit down. Cloud helped her.

"Hey, I was just kidding. Are you sure you're okay?"

Tifa only nodded back in response.

"Maybe you're getting sick…"

Tifa's head shot up. "No! I'm fine! See?" She sat up straight, clenching her teeth so she wouldn't cough anymore.

"Tifa, you're being silly. It's okay."

She shook her head, a small hiss escaping past her lips. Her cheeks were beginning to inflate, and before long, she was coughing again, more violently than before.

"I'm tired," she told him when she had a chance. "I shouldn't be here either…"

"Well, that's evident."

"Shut up!" The girl crossed her arms, hunching over. Cloud laughed.

The two sat together, feet immersed in the cool water. Tifa refused to let Cloud sour her mood, though she was aware that he was just messing with her. She just didn't like it when people speculated that she just might be getting sick – it put her on the defensive.

"Papa told me I'm not allowed to see you anymore."

"It seems like he's telling you that everyday."

"Yeah..." She hesitated with her next thought, before saying, "Priscilla told him we had been playing together."

Cloud slouched. "I hate her."

Tifa pushed him lightly. "You can't hate people. It's not good."

"Says who?" he countered.

"Mommy..." Tifa raised her knees to her chin, hugging them.

Cloud smiled at her. "Your mom was always right." She looked at him without lifting her head, a grin on her face. Cloud turned back toward the plains ahead of them. Squinting, he tried his best to see, before pointing. "Look."

Tifa's head rose so she could better see past her knees. She put a hand on her forehead to block the glare of the sun in the corner of her eyes.

"Is that a moving buggy?"

Cloud nodded. "Looks like it. Wonder where it's going."

He stood up, and she did the same, gazing at it. Most people didn't move in chocobo-driven buggies anymore, so they rarely saw them. If anyone was moving, it was with a truck, or cars. This was... unusual. They couldn't help but stare.

A boy stared back at them from the rear window of the large cart.

"He looks like a girl," Cloud said dryly.

Tifa punched him in the arm. "It looks like they're going to the other side of town!" Grabbing his arm she squealed, "Let's go see the new kid!"

_**/~/** _

He couldn't understand what she was so enthusiastic about. It was just some new family moving into town. Maybe it was fact that they had a buggy. Or maybe it was that they weren't used to seeing people who already had children moving here. Whatever the case, Tifa was excited to meet the boy and his parents. He couldn't say the same for himself.

They made their way through the woods this time, Cloud finally understanding Tifa's worries. She wasn't so much concerned about other people seeing them together as she was about  _Priscilla_ seeing them together.

_And they used to be good friends too._

It didn't take as long as he thought it would to get there – Tifa jogged nearly the entire way, and he had to keep up. They saw the moving buggy and a couple of people moving things inside of the house from the trees. The boy's home was near the end of the street, about five houses down from where they were. It was a bit difficult to see him, as he was half-obscured by the cart; his parents and the moving guys were walking back and forth between the buggy and the house.

"Come on Teef, this is stupid."

She waved a hand at him dismissively, keeping her attention focused on the boy. They couldn't really hear anything that was being said between the newcomers, but it didn't matter to her.

Cloud sighed, leaning against a tree next to her, no longer considering the family.

After a few minutes, she said quietly, "What's wrong with checking them out?"

"Because staring at people we don't know, from far away, is  _creepy_. How would you like it if someone was staring at you all day?"

"It hasn't been all – Look!"

Her sudden alarm made Cloud examine what she was pointing at. It was the boy, but this time, his mother was saying something to him. She didn't seem the least bit pleased.

"What do you think she's mad about?" Cloud asked.

"Beats me."

A few more words were exchanged, and from what they could tell, his mother was getting angrier by the second.

Then, she slapped him.

Tifa's hand rushed to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Cloud's eyes widened.

His mother pointed to the buggy, then went back into the house. The boy shuffled his feet, rubbed his cheek, before his gaze fell upon the looming mountain the town was named after.

He began walking toward it.

"Is he going to Nibel?" Tifa whispered.

"I... guess so." Cloud still couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. They were used to seeing kids get popped on the hand or the rear for being bad, but... in the face? That was unthinkable.

"He can't go there Cloud. It's... dangerous." She hugged herself from the thought.

"No kidding." He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we should tell him that."

"Really? You want to meet him now?"

"I don't want him to fall... like you did. I don't want anybody to fall."

Tifa smiled at him, nodding. "Let's go!"

_**/~/** _

The walk to the Mount Nibel was long, and silent. Neither one of them uttered a word to each other, their only focus being to make sure they got to the new boy in town.

 _Wouldn't that be terrible,_ Tifa thought,  _if his first day here was his last?_ She shuddered. She half-remembered the horrible tumble she took when she ventured out to the top of Mount Nibel. All she could really recall was Cloud's image, before slipping... and hearing her own screams as she whistled through the air.

The dreadful thoughts made her quicken her pace, and Cloud understood immediately.

Before they knew it, the mountain was looming over them mockingly, almost daring them to try and cross it again. Tifa shivered; it had gotten noticeably colder, even in these late spring days. Cloud touched her shoulder in comfort.

The boy had made it there before them, and was currently standing at the base of the mountain, looking up the cold trail. The two followers hid behind a large sign, watching him. Maybe he would decide to turn around, that he really just wanted to see it, and get away from his mom. Maybe he would just sit down at the foot of the road, and forget about climbing up.

Unfortunately for them, he took his first step.

"No, wait!"

The raven-haired boy spun around to see who was behind him, and Tifa and Cloud emerged from their hiding spot. His eyes narrowed at the sight of them.

"Are you following me?"

Cloud shrugged.

Tifa stepped forward. "Well... we weren't exactly following you. We just wanted to... welcome you!"

"Right," Cloud muttered. The girl nudged him.

The boy snorted."Yeah, well, I don't need welcoming. Go home." He started to turn back around.

"We were only trying to be nice, geez." The blond turned to his smaller friend. "See, I told you this was stupid."

"It's not stupid!" she insisted. Looking back at the newcomer, she started, "You really don't want to go up there. It's... scary."

He laughed at that. "Please. I've faced scarier things than mountains."

"I'm being serious!" She was growing more and more frustrated. "If you fall you could..."

The boy turned back around. "I could what?" he challenged.

Cloud huffed, fed up with him taunting her. "You could die idiot."

He got off of the trail, stomping toward the pair. "Who are you calling  _idiot_ , loser?"

The blond pushed up his sleeve, moving to meet him. "You,  _moron_!"

"Stop it!"

Both of them halted, looking at the girl. She was hugging herself, before untangling her arms and running up to Cloud.

"Boys are so immature! Why do you have to fight about everything?" Looking at the new kid she continued, "If you go up there, you can get really hurt. We just didn't want that to happen, okay? We didn't mean to bother you. That's all we wanted."

He settled down. "How'd you even know I was here?"

Cloud shrugged again. "Tifa made us go to your house. We followed you from there."

His eyes widened. "You were... you were at my house?"

Tifa shook her head. "Not exactly. We were in the woods a few houses away."

"That's so creepy! What're you doing following people around anyway!"

He shoved past them, walking away from the mountain and back toward town.

"That guy's a jerk," Cloud affirmed once he was out of their sight.

"I think he's just trying to get used to being here. He doesn't have friends now that all his other ones are back where he used to live."

"Yeah well, he won't make any if he treats people like that."

Tifa shook her head. "I dunno."

It was silent for a while, before Cloud offered, "Wanna have lunch at my house again?"

Tifa didn't even need to answer; her smile was enough.

_**/~/** _

It was huge. Absolutely huge.

Cloud couldn't help  _but_ look upon the fantastic structure. He had seen it a million and one times, but he still couldn't believe just how big it was.

And as far as he knew, no one had ever been inside.

"I dare ya to go in."

He looked at the boy next to him, one around his age, with brown shaggy hair. Cloud shrugged his shoulders.

"No way Thomas."

"You scared?"

"No. I just think it would be dumb to go in there."

"Chicken," Thomas challenged.

"I've heard there are vampires in there that eat anyone who goes in," another boy, Andrew, whispered.

Thomas turned to him. "That's stupid!"

"Well then how come you've never heard of anyone going in that creepy mansion, huh? Because they never come back out!"

Cloud shrugged again, leaning against the gate as he looked upon the old house. It had been there forever, as far as he knew. It was another landmark of Nibelheim, besides the mountain.

"I double-dog dare you Cloud."

The blond stiffened. Double-dog dares were... hard to turn down, to say the least.

"How long?" he asked as he turned back around toward the group.

"Two hours."

"Forget it!" Cloud shoved past Thomas, making his way back home. It was going to get dark in a few hours, and he needed to be home in time for dinner.

He saw the black-haired boy from a few days ago, wandering through the town's center, and grimaced. The boy looked at Cloud and returned the gesture.

Thomas saw their interaction and yelled, "Hey! New kid! Over here!"

The boy stared at Thomas for a second, before scoffing and continuing on his way. Thomas, however, was not one to be ignored.

Cloud thought it might be best to get home  _now._

"Oh no you don't Strife. You're not going anywhere. Andrew, Pipen, hold him! I'll be right back."

The other two boys held Cloud by the arms as he struggled, and Thomas was gone for a moment, before he returned, hauling the slightly smaller new boy with him. As he approached the group, the shaggy haired boy shoved the newcomer toward Cloud.

"Get off me!" Cloud was finally able to wrestle himself free, but the two boys were going to let him go anyway.

"I  _triple-_ dog dare you go in that mansion with  _him_ ," Thomas demanded, pointing at the black haired boy. "And if you don't go, then I'm telling everybody you're a big fat loser!" Turning to the new boy, he mocked, "You don't want to start off on the wrong foot here, do you?"

"This is stupid," the new boy said. "I'm not wasting my time with  _little kids._ "

Thomas blocked his path. "Either you're going in there, or you're gonna stand here all night." He shoved him again.

The new boy winced, holding his side.

Cloud huffed. "How long?"

"Three hours."

"What?"

"You should've taken the two," Thomas sneered.

Cloud sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the house again. He glanced at the boy next to him.

"Do I have to go in with him?"

The black-haired boy laughed. "You think I wanna hang out with you for three hours?"

"Shut up," Cloud managed through gritted teeth.  _I swear I'm gonna strangle this guy._

Thomas sighed loudly. "I'm tired of waiting. Go on, go in!" He pushed Cloud, and Pipen shoved the newcomer, who growled at the touch. They both went inside of the gate, and stood there, before Cloud started toward the house first.

_**/~/** _

The first thing Vincent noticed was the cold.

_It's **freezing** in here._

He shivered slightly, before looking at the blond boy with him and rolling his eyes.  _Ugh. Great._

The other boy wasn't moving, just standing there next to him, staring at the house before him. Vincent wanted to take a step, but found he couldn't; it was dark, and cold, and...  _creepy._ He didn't want to explore, but he couldn't just stand there either.

"Your friends are freaking idiots."

The blond snarled. "They're not my friends."

Vincent sneered. "Yeah? I can't tell."

"Whatever," he responded, before walking forward to avoiding talking to him anymore. Vincent only shrugged, and followed.

They entered a large common room that was overlooked by the second floor. The balcony was falling to pieces, as was the furniture. Vincent could smell mold in the room; it felt a bit humid to him.

"How long has this place been abandoned?"

The other boy shrugged again. "Dunno. It's been here forever."

Vincent found that he couldn't take a couple of steps without running into a cobweb or two.

_These three hours are going to be the longest of my life._

Every step they took was creaky. Vincent could hear the wind outside whistling through the loose boards in the walls. It was beginning to get dark.

_Great. It's going to be completely dark in about an hour. Why did I get sucked into this?_

"This is stupid," Vincent mumbled.

"Why'd you move here if you think everything's stupid?"

"You think I had a choice?"

Cloud took a deep breath. "What's your name anyway?"

Vincent didn't answer right away. He took a few more steps, ducking under a cobweb and looking up a flight of steps.

"Valentine. Vincent Valentine."

"Cloud Strife."

_**/~/** _

_Thank goodness there's a light on this thing._

Vincent checked his watch again. They'd been here for two and a half hours now. It was seriously dark; he could barely see a thing in front of his face. The only way he knew Cloud was around was because they had learned the hard way to cling to each other's shirts to get around. Cloud bumped his head on... something a few minutes ago, and Vincent kept tripping over things.

Unfortunately, the light on his watch wasn't strong enough to even show his hand two inches in front of him.

They tried just staying in one place, but got too antsy and restless (and too afraid) to do so. So, they kept moving, slow and carefully through the house.

"You really think they're still waiting outside?"

"I don't know!" Cloud answered. "Maybe, maybe not. It's so dark now, they might have gone home. But I don't know which way is – AHH!"

They both screamed as they tumbled. Cloud suddenly tripped and fell... but he kept falling. And Vincent, holding onto him, fell right along with him. It seemed like forever, falling in the dark.

And he was terrified.

They both hit the ground, hard, Vincent rolling over onto his side. The wind was knocked out of him, and he had already been in pain before. Cloud seemed to be in better shape.

"Hey, you okay?"

Vincent couldn't answer, only shake his head... which he was sure Cloud couldn't see.

"No..." he managed to whisper.

He gasped again, and Cloud helped him stand up. He felt a breeze on his left side, and when he felt around there, he saw that his shirt was ripped through. "Great..." he mumbled, his breathing coming easier.

Cloud's hand slid down, and Vincent jumped away from him, hissing.

"Sorry! What'd I do?"

"Nothing," Vincent wheezed. "A bruise... you just pressed on it too hard."

"You got in a fight?"

He laughed, before coughing. "Not much of a fight really." He shook himself off. "Let's... keep going. Where are we?"

"I dunno. It's like some... secret passage or something." Cloud held onto Vincent's shirt as he moved, helping the older boy keep up.

_It's... darker down here than up there._

Cloud wasn't sure how that was possible, but it seemed that way to him.

The hall was just wide enough to let them both pass through side by side. They felt along the walls, until Vincent stopped when he felt the wall disappear next to him.

"Hey, there's another way."

Cloud moaned. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" He took a breath, before asking, "What time is it?"

"Eight twenty-seven. Gotta be home?"

"Yeah. I was supposed to be home an hour ago. Crap. My mom's gonna be so pissed."

Vincent didn't answer. He thought about which way to go, before continuing the way he and Cloud had been trekking before.

_**/~/** _

About fifteen minutes later, they found themselves emerging from a hidden door in the ground in the mansion's backyard. Cloud climbed out first, before helping Vincent. They both stood there for a moment, gazing at the house before them, before looking for a way out of the gate.

As Cloud looked, he noticed the large purple splotches on Vincent's side. From being in that immense dark for so long, his eyes had adjusted quickly to the lighter darkness outside.

"Who beat you up like that?" he asked before even thinking about it.

Vincent's eyes widened, looking down and twisting slightly to better see the large bruises spanning across the opening in his shirt. Once again he was rendered silent.

Cloud noticed his hesitation. "You don't have to take it you know. Do you even try to fight back?"

"I can't," Vincent said quietly.

"Sure you can-"

"No. I really  _can't._ " He sighed. "It's not... other kids hitting me like this."

Cloud's brow furrowed. "What? Wait, what do you mean?"

Vincent shook his head, before spotting an opening in the gate. "Hey look."

They both made it through. The other group of boys was no where to be seen. The streets were almost deserted, save for a few people milling around in the square.

Cloud turned to Vincent. "Hey, you gotta be home?"

Vincent shrugged. "Not really. My parents don't care."

"Are you serious? You don't have a curfew?"

"I... sort of do. But they don't... pay attention." Vincent sighed. "Look, I gotta go."

"You just said you didn't."

He glared at the blond. "Quit butting into my business alright!"

"Hey! I'm just trying to help!"

Vincent shuddered, leaning against the wall of a building. "I'm sorry. I just don't like talking about them..."

"Okay. Sorry."

"Look, just... don't tell anyone, okay? About... about the bruises, and whatever else I said about them."

Cloud was stunned. "Wait. You mean, your bruises... are from...?"

Vincent nodded minutely. "I'm not allowed to tell anybody, okay? They would... They'd kill me if they found out anyone knew."

"Am I the only person who knows?"

"No..." Vincent sighed. "No. I had... one friend back in Kalm. She knew. She... she didn't want me to leave. She was afraid." He slid down, sitting and pulling his knees to his chest. Cloud sat down next to him. "She was really nice. And she and her mom were the only people who really cared about me."

Cloud nodded. "My mom pays attention... but besides that, Tifa's really the only person who cares about me too."

"Sorry about what I said to her."

"You can tell her that. Hey!" Cloud smiled. "She probably has some ointment or something. For bruises? She kinda bruises easily."

Vincent pulled his knees tighter. "I don't wanna tell anyone else... I didn't even mean to tell you."

"Well... I just want to help. And she's my best friend, and it was all her idea to try and be friends with you in the first place. She won't tell. Promise. I know she'll just want to help too."

Vincent stayed silent for a bit. No one noticed them sitting there on the side of the building; they were mostly hidden in the shadow created by the street lamps.

"Can... can you and Tifa meet me tomorrow by the mountain? I really need that ointment."

Cloud nodded, sitting back against the wall. "Sure thing."

"Thanks," Vincent said after a while.

"No problem."


	3. Unexpected

_**Loud Whispers III –Unexpected** _

Vincent felt like shit.

He was currently lying on his bed to pass the time. At the moment, there was nowhere else for him to go; school wasn't out yet, so there was no point in him leaving the house. Luckily, his parents weren't there, and it was quiet. He had some sense of solitude, which was rare in most cases.

Glancing over at his clock, he figured if he left now and walked slowly, he should be getting to Tifa's house around the same time she will. He was in no rush; it was just band practice, and it was a Friday. They had all night. Or at least, he did. He would certainly be in no rush to return to his house.

At the same time, he had to get up and  _move_ to even leave his room, and that was a task in itself. His body was not in the mood for any sort of physical maneuvering. He was still tender from a fight with his father that morning. He hadn't moved from his spot on the bed nearly all day, which probably did not help his soreness in the least. The thought alone of moving made him groan.

Vincent sighed, told himself to suck it up, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Son of a –" He cut himself short with a hiss, leaning against his dresser for some support.

This was going to be a long walk indeed.

He could just call Cloud and ask him to pick him up. That would save him a lot of time (and misery).  _Yeah, that sounds like a plan._

When he looked over at his clock again, he knew the bell was ringing for school to end. With that, he took out his phone and dialed.

"Hey." Someone said something to Cloud in the background, and he laughed.

"Hey. Are you just getting out?"

"You watching the clock again?"

Vincent didn't respond right away.

"Yes Vince. You know we are. Why?"

"I need you to pick me up."

"Why didn't you just come to school today?"

Vincent sighed through his teeth. "Fight this morning."

"Right..." Cloud was silent for another moment, and Vincent heard a slight dinging in the background, before an engine starting up.

"Tifa with you?"

"No. She left early today. Said she didn't feel good."

Vincent nodded, more to himself as he sat back down on the bed. "Think she'll be okay?"

Cloud laughed. "Teef's tough. I think she'll be fine. I'll see you in ten."

"Yeah."

Vincent hung up, before starting a text to the brunette.

**You okay?**

Tossing the phone across the bed, he laid back down. He was beginning to feel hungry, but decided that he would get something to eat once he got to his friend's house. There was always plenty there, whereas he knew his options here were limited.

Vincent felt himself shift in and out of sleep until the moment his doorbell rang. He sat up, tying his hair at the nape of his neck before grabbing his phone. He didn't think to check it before answering the door.

Cloud had his hands in his pockets when he did.

"You look like shit."

Vincent scoffed. "Thanks asshole. Can we go?"

Cloud cracked a smile, and Vincent locked the door and walked to the blond's car. The ride started out silent for a moment, before Cloud asked, "What happened?"

"Does something have to have happened?"

Cloud shrugged. "No. Guess not."

Vincent laughed, slouching in the seat. He was feeling slightly better, but not as good as he might have wanted to. "Thanks for getting me."

"No problem. I figured when you didn't show up today that something was up. Then Tifa left, but she shouldn't have come to school at all today. She tried to stay, but she really needed to be home."

"Maybe we should forget about practice then."

Cloud shrugged again.

Vincent remembered his text, and fished his phone out of his pocket. As he suspected, there was a message from Tifa.

**Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Dad should be leaving soon.**

"Awesome," he drawled.

"What?"

"Tifa's dad is home."

"Fuck..." Cloud stopped at a light, having every mind to turn around and just head to his house. "What did she say?"

"That he should be leaving soon."

"But how long ago was that?"

Vincent checked the time on the text, and told his friend that she sent it fifteen minutes ago. He did not respond.

Soon enough, they parked in front of Tifa's house. Vincent got out before Cloud did, making his way to the front door. They couldn't tell if Timothy Lockheart was home because the man usually parked his car in the garage. Tifa's was in the driveway.

They soon found out that he was.

Timothy opened the door just wide enough for the pair to see him, and almost nothing else behind him. He had a permanent scowl etched across his face – or, at least he did when he saw them.

Cloud didn't hesitate. "Is Tifa feeling better? I saw she left early today."

The older man shook his head. "No. If anything, she's worse. You won't be seeing her today."

And with that, he closed the door.

Cloud clinched his fists. Vincent whistled through his teeth as they made their way back to the car.

"Fucking hate that man."

Vincent shrugged. "Cloud, you've known that he was an ass your whole life. How come every time we see him it's a new surprise?"

"It's not. I'm just sick of it."

Another car rolled up next to them, and Vincent rolled his eyes. The window came down to reveal a two people, a man behind the wheel with black hair and blue eyes and a girl with short, black hair and brown eyes.

"Hey Cloud, Vince. What's up with Tifa?"

"She's sick Zack," Cloud said curtly, taking his jacket off and throwing it into his backseat.

Zack laughed. "I take it her old man's home?"

"No shit," Vincent replied.

The girl in the passenger seat laughed. "No need to be so uptight guys. What did we do?"

The blonde sighed. "Were you on your way home?"

The girl nodded, before getting out of the car. She looked up at the house for a minute, smiled, and waved. Zack got out as well and did the same, before Cloud and Vincent looked up as well.

Tifa was looking down from the window of her room, waving at the four of them. She turned, looked back with one final gesture, before leaving the window. The curtain swayed slightly from her departure.

"She really should not have been at school."

"I told her that, Yuffie. But she insisted."

Yuffie hummed quietly.

Zack sighed, before asking, "Were you doing anything else? Besides practice tonight?"

Cloud shrugged. Vincent shook his head.

"Why don't you come over to our house? Yuffie's parents are gone on some trip to Midgar... Maybe that's why Tifa's dad is home."

Cloud looked at Vincent, who hesitated. He knew Zack and Vincent didn't really get along, and he knew the latter wanted somewhere to hang for a few hours.

He also thought about Tifa's father.  _Makes sense. He can't go on the trip, so Mr. and Mrs. Kisaragi have to go instead._

Godo Kisaragi was the governor of Nibel Province, part of the Western Federation. Timothy Lockheart worked for him, maintaining close ties with the Eastern Federation, whose capital was Midgar.

Vincent finally shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. Yuffie smiled, before skipping back to the passenger side of the car. Zack pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

Cloud looked back up to Tifa's window before walking back to his side of the car.

"You ready?"

Vincent nodded, getting into the car.

Zack yelled from his, "Hey! Aerith's coming over!"

Cloud nodded, putting his car into gear and driving off after Zack. Vincent sat back with a small smile on his face.

_**/~/** _

Tifa watched the four drive off with a smile.  _Damn._ She'd wanted to have band practice – she'd wanted to stay at school today, just to show her father that she felt fine, but that wasn't about to happen. It just wasn't.

_Maybe I'll be fine tomorrow..._

She was glad there wasn't a show or anything tomorrow, or they just might be in trouble.  _God I hate this._

She coughed violently as she walked to her bed, laying down and taking a deep, shuddering breath to steady herself. Tifa curled into a ball as her father walked in.

"Tifa, you can't sleep like that. It'll make it harder for you to breathe."

"It's more comfortable this way." She began coughing again.

Tifa felt Timothy sit down next to her, his hand soothingly rubbing her back. "Honey..."

"Dad, I'm fine. Really. I just need," – she took another deep breath – "sleep. I'll be fine." The brunette was beginning to feel tears sting her eyes from the pain, but wiped them away furiously.

He looked down at her for a moment, unsure of what to say next. It pained him to see her this way, and he knew how much she hated being sick – being weak and barely able to do anything for herself.  _She was always an independent child._

"Okay well... I brought some soup up for you. And your medicine. Please take it sweetheart." He kissed her on the forehead, which was burning to the touch. Timothy sighed. "I love you."

Tifa coughed again, before smiling at him. "Love you too, Dad. I'll take it."

When he left, she stayed in the same position for a few minutes, before turning over and seeing the tray on her dresser, equipped with a blue bowl, green cup, and a terrible, orange prescription bottle. Sighing heavily, she reached for the bottle and sat up, dumping two pills into her hand and swallowing them without even thinking about the cup of water. Then, she laid back down, her exhaustion causing her to forget about the soup.

_**That. Was. Awesome!** _

_It was their very first gig! Very first, and it was a hit! Everything went better than she expected it to, and she could not stop jumping up and down backstage afterwards._

" _Teef, will you please calm down?" Cloud laughed._

_She shook her head, singing to herself then. She was on a high. An absolute high. "That was so great! It was amazing! And everyone enjoyed it!" She stopped jumping in exchange for giggling._

_Vincent smiled at her. "What are you, high?"_

_The brunette nodded vigorously. Aaron laughed at her._

" _Eh, who can blame her right? I mean, I know that my extreme talent is why we're so successful, so she has a right to be grateful that I'm here."_

_Tifa punched him in the arm then. Matt scoffed as he packed his bass guitar._

_Vincent shook his head. "Tifa, I swear you..."_

_He stopped, suddenly, staring past his friend. Tifa smiled up at him, before tilting her head to the side in question._

" _Uhm... I'll be right back." Gently pushing past Cloud and Aaron, he left the group, who followed him with their eyes._

" _What's up with Vince?" Tifa wondered aloud._

_They all continued to watch, until he stopped in front of a girl that looked around their age, with long brown hair wearing a pink shirt and jeans. The two only stared at one another for a long moment, before she wrapped her arms around his neck, and his around her waist in a tight hug._

" _Whoa..." Aaron was the first to say anything. "I've never seen Vince react that way to_ _ **anyone**_ _before. Well, maybe accept you Tifa."_

_Tifa shook her head._

_Then, Vincent grabbed the girl by the hand, leading her over to the group._

" _Vincent, no. I can't..." they heard her giggle. Once they both stopped, she smiled at them. "Hello."_

" _Hi!" Tifa greeted._

_Vincent could not hide the huge grin on his face. "Guys, this is... this is Aerith. She just moved here."_

_Cloud held out a hand. "Hey. Vince talks a lot about you."_

" _Does he?" She laughed. "That's nice to know." After Vincent introduced everyone, she claimed, "Your voice is wonderful. I mean, the whole performance was just amazing!"_

_Tifa blushed. "Th-thanks. I'm glad you had a good time."_

_Vincent put an arm around his old friend. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later okay?"_

_Aerith looked up at him with alarm. "What? No, you don't have to do that!"_

" _Yes I do," he responded, looking at her. "I'll see you guys around." With that, he walked away with a wave. Aerith giggled, waving as well._

Tifa woke up, startled, clutching the covers enveloping her. She only just realized that she had drifted back to sleep, and now her stomach was in knots from hunger. The girl moaned, turning over and feeling nauseous at even the thought of food, but she knew she had to eat  _something_. Taking a deep sigh, she watched the bowl of soup on her dresser.

_I wonder if it's even still hot._

Reaching out, she gently brushed the side of it with her fingertips. It was lukewarm. She heard the television on downstairs, some crime mystery resounding throughout the house.

Tifa sat up then, thinking about Vincent and Aerith.  _How small a world..._

Gingerly she sat up, propping herself against her pillows and taking the tray from the dresser to her lap. She tasted a bite of the soup, and even though it was better hot, she did not bother calling her father in to heat it up for her.  _I'll live._

It was amazing to her how two friends can pick it up so easily after not seeing or hearing from one another for seven years. She could not imagine that kind of existence between herself and Cloud.  _That would just be awful._

But, Vincent became friends with them, and she assumed that was how he got on without Aerith, who was the only one who kept him going back in Kalm.

_To live that way... and not be able to tell anyone. I can't imagine..._

She did not want to try.

Tifa put the crackers back on the dresser; she did not think she could handle those yet. After only a few more bites of soup, she decided to put that back as well. She tried, but she just was not feeling it. At least her stomach was satisfied for the moment.

" _Where is he?"_

_Tifa waited patiently, but was growing more anxious by the minute. She was supposed to be in bed, but instead she was waiting in a tree for Cloud to come and get her. He told her he would be there, but that was ten minutes ago!_

_**Has he forgotten...?** _

_She knew Vincent was supposed to be coming as well, but had yet to see him either. She nearly jumped out of the tree and headed back home when she heard a sharp whistle. Looking down, she saw her blond friend._

" _You're late!" she whined._

" _I know. I'm sorry. It took me a minute to get out. You okay?"_

" _Where's Vinnie?"_

" _Dunno. But I guess he'll just meet us there."_

_He raised a hand, and Tifa clambered down a few branches to get to him, before he helped her out of the tree. Even though she was still good at climbing, it was getting harder to get down as she got older and bigger. Embarrassingly enough as it was, she had to enlist help._

_When she hopped down, Cloud cautiously put a hand around her waist to steady her. She smiled._

" _Thanks."_

_He only nodded, and took her hand to lead her deeper into the woods. It was dark, but he seemed to know where he was going, and she did not ask questions. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her._

_The thought made her cheeks warm._

_A few minutes later, they stopped. Darkness surrounded them, and the light of the moon only faintly made it through the trees._

" _Cloud-"_

" _Shh." He kept a grip on her hand, squeezing it reassuringly._

_Tifa waited, looking around her in anticipation. She wanted to ask, but she figured it was more of a Wait-For-It moment._

_Then there was a tiny light. She turned to look at it, and more sprouted near it. A few feet away, another few lights. Then another group, until they all came together as a whole._

" _Fireflies..."_

_Tifa smiled at the scene before her, unable to take it all in. The clearing was completely illuminated then by the thousands of fireflies that lit the night. They moved together as one huge swarm, and Tifa could not move for fear of frightening them away._

_Cloud looked down at her. "That's not all. Look up in the tree."_

_She did so, and a second later a pair of yellows eyes stared back at her. She jumped, and Cloud squeezed her hand again, laughing. There was a whooing noise after that, more blinking, and three more pairs of eyes emerged as she looked upon them. As the fireflies moved up toward the tops of the trees, the bodies of four owls, one brown, two speckled, and one white, became visible. She gasped, her free hand over her mouth in joy, and surprise._

" _Cloud! This is beautiful!"_

" _Yeah... I know."_

_He was looking at her again, this time for much longer than before. Tifa felt his gaze, biting her lower lip before meeting his eyes._

" _Cl-cloud...?"_

" _Hm?"_

" _Have you... have you heard from Vincent?"_

_He blinked, then shook his head. "No... Hope he's alright."_

" _Yeah... me too." She turned away from him, afraid that she would be unable to fight the sudden urge she had._

_**He's my best friend. I can't.** _

_She took a few steps toward the tree, and the owls hooted all at once, before taking off in silent unison. She watched them as they did, soaring through the fireflies before disappearing above the trees._

_Tifa could feel her friend staring at her again. She had no idea what to do about it._

_**Should I say something? Should I react?** _

_She didn't want to act like she_ _**didn't** _ _notice, but was afraid of what would happen if she acknowledged his unwavering eyes. Of course, she noticed this happening a lot now that the both of them were growing up, faster physically than mentally it seemed. For a long time she thought being thirteen sucked, with all the changes that were happening so fast. But she learned to deal with them quick enough._

_**Do I tell him to quit it?** _

_But that option did not seem appealing to her either._

_Then suddenly, he was there, right in front of her face, his blue eyes becoming the only thing she could see. The light of the bugs around then, even though it was fading, gave a soft glow to his orbs, and then it happened. His lips were upon hers in a second._

_At first, it was rougher than she would have liked, before Cloud got a sense of what he was doing and adjusted to her soft mouth. An arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer._

_Her best friend was kissing her._

_Cloud Strife was_ _**kissing** _ _her. And there was nothing she wanted to do to change it._

_Tifa responded slowly, at first overcoming the shock, before wrapping her arms around his neck. He stalled, surprised by her reaction, before continuing. Tifa had to reach on the tips of her toes to be comfortable, but she did not care. She was... enjoying this. She was enjoying this much more than she thought she should be._

" _Guys...?"_

_And then it was over. Cloud jumped away from her at the voice, startled. Tifa only stared in embarrassment at who would dare interrupt them._

_**Oh my God...** _

_Their one and only late friend, Vincent Valentine._

_He only stood there, unable to move, or speak, or anything. All of them were fixed on one another, all of them wide-eyed. It took a minute for Vincent to respond._

" _I... I didn't mean..."_

_Tifa shook her head. "No. That's okay. Really." Looking at her watch, she bit her lip, trembling. "I have to go anyway. I don't want Dad to check on me and see I'm not there. Bye."_

_She couldn't even look at either of them as she walked away._

"Tifa? Tifa?"

She was coming out of another lapse of consciousness, hearing her father call her name. Tifa did not even realize that she had fell asleep – again – this time partially propped against her pillows in a sitting up position. Her back was beginning to hurt from the lop-sided stance.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She adjusted, slipping down underneath the covers in an almost horizontal arrangement.

"You look bone-weary, hunny. Maybe I should stay until Monday."

"You don't need to do that. I mean, I know you have some really important business in Midgar, and I can take care of myself."

Tifa started another coughing fit, gasping when she finished to try and catch her breath.  _Yeah. That proves my point really well._

Timothy ran a hand through his hair. His daughter looked terrible; he couldn't just leave her like this. He knew very well that Tifa could care for herself, but in this condition? He would not dare leave her.

"We'll see how you're feeling by Sunday. I just cannot go on that trip with a clear head knowing how sick you are now."

The girl sighed, not responding. She didn't know how. Some days her father could be the most caring man in the world, tending to her every whim and need. But as soon as she got better...  _He's barely to be seen._ It used to bother her when she was younger, but now she sucks it up and invites her friends over for band practice or movies, or just to have the company. Sometimes, she just likes the peace and quiet.

Timothy squeezed her hand, and Tifa smiled weakly back up to him, before he left, gently closing the door behind him. She sighed.  _Some days..._

She heard the television again, another crime show. It seemed louder to her than before, or maybe she was just more aware now. She did not feel as sleepy, taking that as a sign that she was feeling better. Tifa sighed, smiling. Maybe it would turn out to be a good weekend after all.

_**/~/** _

Cloud felt himself getting groggy. They had been through two movies, both terrible, making fun of both of them the whole time. He'd laughed, but now he was feeling the effects of being up since the wee hours of the morning. Insomnia was a hell of a disorder.

He rubbed his face with one hand, looking around at the others. Zack was currently up shuffling through the movie collection with Yuffie shouting suggestions at him. Aerith and Vincent were talking and laughing with one another. His brow furrowed as he realized he did not even notice the movie ending.

_I either zoned out, or I dozed off…_

"Vince? Did I fall asleep?"

Vincent looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Yes. And you snore. It was rude of you, Cloud. I expect better out of you."

The blond threw him a single finger gesture and Vincent laughed. Cloud got up then, taking out his phone.

 **Text Message: Mom** and  **Voicemail: Mom** flashed across the screen. He read the message before calling her. As he did, he walked away from the group for some silence.

"Hey."

"Cloud! You know, you could call. Or just answer your phone."

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I'm at Yuffie's with Vincent."

"That's fine, I just wanted to know when you would be home is all. Is Vincent coming over?"

"Uhm…" He turned around to ask his red-eyed friend, who was approaching him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Mom just wanted to know if you were coming over."

Vincent nodded, leaning against the counter.

"He's coming."

"How is Tifa? I heard she wasn't feeling well today."

Cloud shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I didn't get to see her; Timothy was home."

" _Mr_. Lockheart." She heard her son snort in response. Marina Strife sighed. "I know you don't like him Cloud…"

"I don't."

She stopped, knowing that trying to reason with her son wasn't going to solve anything. "Just get home safe. I've already made dinner, and there is enough for the both of you when you get here. Goodnight."

"Night." Cloud snapped the phone shut and turned back to the group. He saw that Yuffie was getting off of the phone as well.

"Parents are on their way back in town," she said sourly. "I was hoping they would be gone for all of next week!"

Vincent's brow furrowed. "I thought you said they would be. They're coming back?"

"Guess it wasn't too important," Aerith chirped.

"No," Zack said. "They don't need to stay because Lockheart's flying out there tomorrow. They just called to tell us."

Cloud was beyond confused. "But Tifa's dad always stays when she's sick."

"Apparently she's not too sick anymore."

Vincent shrugged. "That's fine then. We can have practice this weekend."


	4. Everything's Fine

**_Loud Whispers IV – Everything's Fine_ **

How long had she been sleeping?

It was bright – she could tell that before she even opened her eyes. The light filtered through her lids as if they were not even closed.

Tifa slowly cracked an eye open, holding her hand to shield her face. She noticed that the lights were not even on in her room. Looking over her right, she saw that her curtains had been pulled all the way open.

She sat up, feeling groggy, but not necessarily pained. Sighing with relief, the brunette also noticed that her barely-touched soup bowl and unopened crackers were no longer sitting at her bedside. She'd rather them than what was there. The disgusting, transparent orange bottle was present, as well as a fresh glass of water.

Even though she wasn't in much pain at the moment, Tifa also knew from experience that it could come on at any minute. She took more of the medicine (this time with the aid of water to help get it down), and kicked the rest of the sheets off of her. They weren't covering the majority of her body, and she assumed she had pushed them away during her fevered night. In fact, Tifa still thought she felt a little warm, but she was feeling much better than she was yesterday.

The clock next to the medication told her that it was later than she would have liked: a bit past noon.  _No wonder I'm feeling better. I've slept the majority of the time home!_

Even so, Tifa smiled and got up. Pulling on a pair of pajama pants that were at the end of the bed –  _Did I kick those off too? –_ she made her way out of the room.

Halfway down the stairs, she could already hear the familiar noise of items being pushed around and the clicks and zippers of luggage. When she reached the landing that gave way to the last few steps, she stopped at the banister and looked at her father. He looked well put together, but she could sense how much of a mess he actually was. His things were not as neatly arranged as she was used to seeing them. Usually, her father took a day or two to prepare for a weeklong trip to Midgar. Today, however, he'd only a few hours.

 _I wonder if he stayed up all night..._ Tifa sighed.

Her father must have read her mind.

"I woke up at six. I tried to be quiet so I wouldn't wake you sweetheart."

Timothy turned around and smiled at his daughter, before going back to packing a briefcase. She flashed one back at him.

"It's okay Dad. I probably wouldn't have heard the next house over explode. I'm fine."

He nodded in response, mumbling about not being able to find some miscellaneous item. Tifa heard him and picked up a pair of socks sitting on the chair next to him as he rummaged through a nearly packed suitcase.

"Dad."

He looked at her, then what was in her hand. Taking the socks, he held her hand for a little longer and kissed her forehand.

"Thanks. Sorry..."

"It's fine Dad. You seem a bit scatterbrained."

"Yes..." He stopped for a moment and gazed at her. "Are you feeling alright? Are you sure it's okay if I leave...?"

She nodded. "Yes. I told you last night that I was starting to feel better. My chest barely even hurts anymore. I'm okay Dad. Really."

His stance relaxed; she could visibly see the tension release from his shoulders.  _Dad..._

"Okay then. I'm glad you feel better. That it wasn't as severe as I thought it would be."

"I know how to take care of myself. It's okay. I promise."

He zipped up his last suitcase and stood it up. Reaching out, he enveloped Tifa in a hug. "Okay sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too." She gripped him briefly before he pulled away.

Timothy looked around the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything else. Tifa wrestled with a question.

"Why are you always so short with Cloud?"

He stopped, his gaze shooting back to her. Shaking his head, he grabbed a bag and headed for the door. "Tifa, I'm not going to argue with you before I leave."

"What?" She was astounded.  _He always does this!_ "What arguing? Dad, I just asked a question."

"One I'm not going to entertain. For one, in my house, I don't have to explain myself to you." Tifa rolled her eyes. Timothy saw it, but ignored the gesture. "Two, I don't want to talk about him before I leave you."

"I just don't understand. Why can't you at least tolerate him? He's my friend!"

"He's a boy I thought I told you to stay away from!"

"That was when I was nine! What's so bad about Cloud? Why can't you like him?"

"I do not have to explain myself to my  _daughter_!"

Timothy took a deep breath. Tifa crossed her arms. This was futile.  _Why did I even ask?_

"I have to go Tifa. We'll talk about this when I get back."

He picked up his suitcase. Once the door closed and she heard his car depart from the driveway a few minutes later, Tifa began to make herself a meal.

_No we won't. We never do._

_**/~/** _

"I'm kicking your ass."

Why was he so good at these games? Cloud has asked himself that over and over throughout the years that he's known Vincent. He only got to play them when he was over someone's house, and he managed to learn in a few hours what it took most people a few days.

"No... No! Dammit!"

Cloud threw down the controller as Vincent celebrated yet another victory that resulted in Cloud being virtually killed... again.

"Cough it up. I don't have all day."

"Yes you do, shut up."

He fished out yet another ten dollars from his pocket and handed them over to his raven-haired nemesis. Vincent stuffed it in his.

"It always feels good coming into your house and shooting you down Cloud. Would you like to go another round?"

"Ha ha," Cloud mocked. He got up, making his way to the kitchen. He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to eat; he just knew he was hungry. As he rummaged the refrigerator, Cloud heard his mom close her room door.

"What are you doing?"

"Wondering what to eat..."

"Do you have to do that with the fridge open?"

Cloud closed the door and looked at his mom. "Well, I don't have the inside memorized. So I have to open it up and see."

She huffed. "Look in the pantry. That at least doesn't cost money."

Cloud shook his head. "Vincent, do you want anything?" he shouted into the next room.

"Nope!"

Cloud looked over the wall separating the kitchen and the living room and shook his head. Vincent was spread across the couch, counting his money.

"Asshole..." he mumbled.

"What did you say?"

He'd almost forgotten that Marina was in the room.

"Nothing! Nothing." Cloud grabbed a bag of chips and retreated. His mother shook her head.

"Aren't you going somewhere today?"

"No... Didn't plan on it anyway." He opened the bag, and Vincent dug his hand inside. "I thought you said you didn't want anything."

His friend only shrugged.

The phone rang, and Cloud looked up toward the kitchen.

"I've got it!" his mother called, before answering in a hushed tone. She then retreated to her room.

Cloud snacked on more chips in silence. He debated picking the controller back up.

"So... what is that? Fifty dollars in five rounds? I think that's a new record Strife."

Cloud made up his mind to throw a pillow at Vincent to shut him up. The latter only laughed.

His phone rang then, and he reached for it on the table.

"Sore loser," the red-eyed teen said quietly, though loud enough for Cloud to hear.

"Whatever." He pressed a button before putting the phone up to his ear. "Hey Teef."

"Hi Tifa!" Vincent chimed in the background.

"If she wanted to say hi to  _you_ , she would have called  _your_ phone," Cloud said smugly.

The guest gave his companion the finger.

"What are you doing?" the brunette asked, giggling.

"Nothing. Vincent just being a jerk as usual."

The accused punched Cloud in the arm. He ignored him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better actually. I was wondering if you two wanted to come over. We can have practice now!"

His brow furrowed. "Are you sure? You seemed pretty bad yesterday. I don't want you to strain –"

"I'm  _fine._  Just come over. And call Aaron and Matt. I'm making lunch for everyone."

"Tifa..."

"Cloud. I am not going to say this again. I am perfectly fine. Quit worrying! I think I know my own limits. If I think I can sing today for a couple of hours, I can sing. And tell Vincent I said hi back."

He sighed. He hated it when she turned the motherly tone on.

"Fine. But I'm not telling him that."

"Telling me what?" Vincent requested with a mouthful of chips.

Cloud hung up and stood. "Tifa said she's feeling better. Wants to have practice now."

The other quit crunching and swallowed. "Oh... Well, I'll just meet you there. Need to get home and get some more clothes. And shower."

"You don't have anymore over here?"

"No. I was running out at my own house so I just brought them all back home."

"You can just borrow mine then. It's fine."

Vincent shrugged. "Maybe they won't be home. It's Saturday. Usually Summer drags Brison out to go shopping or some shit like that. I'll just meet you there."

"Okay. I'm not leaving for a while. I need to do the same, plus mom is probably going to want me to straighten up. She's been pissed off about every damn piece of dust lately. It's annoying."

"Well, you need to. Look at the mess you've created!" he laughed.

"Get out Vince!"

Vincent heard Cloud laughing as he closed the door. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked. He had a long one ahead of him, but he had time.

 _How in the world did Cloud and Tifa follow me all over town when I first moved here?_ Nibelheim isn't the smallest town, to say the least. It only seemed that way because everyone knew nearly everyone else. The families living here have been around forever. Only recently did people begin to move into the town.

He sighed, humming a song to himself. He was in higher spirits than usual.  _Maybe it was from taking Cloud's money..._ Or maybe the past eighteen hours have just been good ones. And he had a good feeling about the coming ones. Practice sessions were always good. They were like a sanctuary for everyone there.

Town was as busy as to be expected on a Saturday. There were people everywhere, but Vincent ignored most of them. He was just thinking ahead, to spending more time with the people he considered family.

His only obstacle was getting through his own home first. He spotted his parents' car from down the street as he arrived into his neighborhood.

_Shit... I didn't think they'd be home!_

Maybe they were asleep. Maybe they were at a neighbor's. The possibilities swirled through his head. Did he want to risk it? He was in no mood to let his parents dampen his day, nor did he feel like getting into another fight.

 _Cloud said I could borrow his clothes..._ But Vincent needed a shower.  _And underwear..._ He racked his brain for some kind of solution,  _any_ solution.

He sighed. He needed to get into his room, at least to get some clothes. Maybe he could go back and use Cloud's shower...

Sucking in a breath, he made the rest of the way to his house. Vincent's height didn't make sneaking around any easier, but he tried his best. He slinked around the windows of the front room. He didn't see them in there, so he assumed they must be in their bedroom.  _Great._ That would make getting in and out of his room harder, for his was right next to theirs.

Once Vincent reached his window, he peered inside. Everything was as he had left it yesterday afternoon. Pushing his window up, he carefully climbed over the sill and ran to his door. He quickly opened the waiting backpack and went over to his dresser. From there, he took out a couple of pairs of underwear, t-shirts, sweatpants and jeans and stuffed them into the near-empty book bag. When he swung it over his shoulder, he hit the dresser and knocked over a book.

He watched it fall. It felt like life had temporarily entered slow motion. By the time he could react, it had already hit the ground with a loud  _thump!_

A door opened outside. Vincent glanced at his own door, before dashing towards the window.

"Vincent!"

He didn't stop. Vincent quickly jumped over the sill and slammed the window in his father's bloated face. The man inside was livid. Vincent stared at Brison through the glass, watched his blood-shot eyes nearly bulge out of his head.

"Get your ass back into this house  _now!_ "

He shook his head. He could feel nineteen years worth of terror seeping into his brain, rooting him to the ground.

_No! Run! Run Valentine!_

The look in his father's eyes kept him there, however. Brison looked angrier than Vincent had seen him on most occasions, the vein in his forehead visible. He gulped. He remembered that day in the yard when they moved away from Kalm, the time he got smart, the time he didn't get the remote fast enough, the time when…

Brison started to open the window. That snapped Vincent out of his reverie.

As he regained control of himself, he slowly backed away from the house. Vincent ran in the opposite direction.

" _Vincent!"_

He dared not stop until he was at least out of his neighborhood. He knew his father. He might jump into the car and drive after him. He might leave him alone and go back to whatever drunken stupor he was in before being disturbed. Hell, he might even come running down the street after the boy. But Vincent knew what  _he_ was going to do, and that was run like hell.

It was a good fifteen minutes later that he finally stopped to take a breath. Leaning against a building, he bent over, coughing. It had been a while since he ran like that, and the pain from yesterday morning's fight wasn't helping.  _Fuck him._ Vincent gritted his teeth. His parents seemed a lot more aggressive lately, and he wasn't sure if that was possible. But he didn't care. He was not about to risk another tango with them.

Looking around, he slipped out of the alley and began walking with the general population. He had a long while before he reached Cloud's house. Taking out his phone, he sent a text to the blond.

**Hey, wait up for me. I'll be back there soon. Trouble home.**

He put his phone away and took another deep breath as he crossed the street. There were less people here. He hated crowds.

A car came rambling up beside him. Vincent rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood for this.

"Hey there Vinnie. Want a ride?"

He kept walking, and he made sure to keep his face void of emotion. "Fuck off Zack."

Zack snorted. "Just trying to help a friend, that's all."

"We're not friends."

"We are through mutual relationships." Vincent didn't stop. "How's Tifa? Is she feeling better?"

The raven-haired teen slowed down at the mention of his sickly friend. "Yeah. We're actually having practice today." Vincent gave him a sideways glare. "Is there nothing better you could be doing than riding along the sidewalk?"

"I can see you're in no mood to talk." Vincent rolled his eyes again. "Well, I actually need to get back home. But I'll see you around Vinnie!"

_Next time he calls me Vinnie within arm's reach, his nose will be broken._

_**/~/** _

As soon as Vincent left, Cloud headed upstairs.

"Cloud?"

He stopped midway up to answer her. "Yeah mom?"

"Oh! I thought that was you leaving. It was Vincent?"

"Yeah."

"Cloud, it's a mess down here!" She must have seen the living room.

He sighed. "I know. I'm going to get it after I shower. Promise."

He turned around to see her at the bottom of the stairs with a smile. "Promise huh?"

He smiled back. "Of course mom. I always keep my promises."

"Mm, I know. Just hurry all right? I don't want this sitting here all day."

"I will!" he shouted behind him as he climbed up the remaining stairs.

Twenty minutes later, Cloud checked his phone while drying his hair. He had two messages. The first was from Tifa:

**Mind getting some apple juice on the way over? Pleeeeeeeeease :)**

Cloud chuckled quietly to himself.  _Yeah, she's definitely feeling better._

**yeah sure. what's for lunch?**

He put the phone down for a moment to button up his shirt. He saw that the next one was from Vincent. It worried Cloud slightly, but if he was already on the way back and able to text, then his friend must be fine.

**NP. take your time. its fine. you alright?**

Since he had to wait for Vincent, Cloud took his time packing his guitars. He gathered a few pens and the notebook he used to write lyrics, and put them into a knapsack. Swinging that over his shoulder, he put his phone in his pocket with his wallet, grabbed his cases, and went downstairs.

He put his cases down next to the front door and went into the kitchen. His mom was on the phone.

"I'll call you back okay?"

He went over to the refrigerator and took out the milk.

"Do you consume  _something_  every few minutes?" his mother laughed.

Cloud shrugged. "I guess so... Never noticed it before."

Marina shook her head. Cloud's phone vibrated and chimed. It was Tifa.

**Thanks. And you'll see!**

He smiled, pouring himself another glass of milk. His phone went off again.

**why does vinnie hate me again? he hurt my feelings today you know.**

Cloud shook his head.  _Zack must have caught him after he left home._

**he doesn't hate you. you act like a child.**

Marina was staring at him when he finished texting. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"I know mom. The living room."

When he was nearly done vacuuming, there was a knock at the door. Marina answered it.

"Hello Vincent hunny. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Ms Strife. May I use your shower? The water isn't working in our house right now."

Cloud looked up to hear Vincent's response. He looked awful. Pale. Tired.  _Like he did after we got out of that mansion and he told me about his parents..._

"Oh... sure dear. You know where it is, don't you?"

Vincent nodded and made his way upstairs with a quick wave to Cloud. The blond only nodded back.

"Hunny, does Vincent get enough sleep? He looks exhausted."

Cloud shrugged, and continued to vacuum. Marina went back into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. He couldn't hear her over the vacuum cleaner, but was done soon enough. Cloud lied down on the couch and put his hands behind his head. He rested for a moment, before remembering something.

"Hey, did the mail come today?"

His mother looked at him, and told the person she was speaking with to hold on. "Yes. It's on the counter. It came while you were in the shower." He heard her door close soon after that.

Cloud tensed and stood up. He wondered if Marina had gone through the mail or not. She hadn't said anything to him about any letters, and once he went through it, he saw for himself that he had received nothing.  _Dammit._

"Hey, you ready?"

The blond turned around to see Vincent coming down the stairs with his backpack on his back. "Yeah, I'm good." He went to the back of the house and knocked on Marina's door. "Vince and I are leaving now!"

"Alright. Have fun!"

He walked back to the front and grabbed his keys from a rack near the counter.

"You've got to be the best liar I've ever met." His friend only smiled at that. "You look better. Nothing happened?" Cloud enjoined as he picked up his guitar cases.

"No. Everything's good. Though I might have to stay over for a few days." Vincent opened the door.

"That's fine. You know you can. And by the way, I have to swing by the store on the way to Tifa's."

_**/~/** _

Her father had put her in such a sour mood. The only way she could rectify it was by showering, cleaning, and cooking. Those were the only things short of punching a hole in the wall that would calm her nerves.

"Why does he have to be so damn infuriating!" she mumbled to herself. Grabbing her spatula, she carefully picked up the last sandwich from the frying pan and put it on a plate. The plate went onto the table next to several others. The frying pan went into the sink.

Tifa washed her hands before setting a bowl of pasta salad onto the table. She sent a text to Cloud.

**And bread. I'll pay you back.**

She felt a little better, but she just could not understand.  _Why is being friends with them so bad?_ She knew her father would have preferred if Tifa had more girl friends. When Aerith moved here, he was more than happy to see his daughter hanging around another girl for a change. Even when he found out that Aerith was a friend of Vincent's, it was still nice to know that there was another female around.

She also noticed that he had become more hostile toward Cloud ever since she and Priscilla stopped being friends, and when her mother died.

Tifa rolled her eyes.  _Whatever._ Nothing was going to change; why couldn't he just accept that?  _Cloud and Vincent have never done anything wrong to me. Why can't he at least be civil with them?_

She sighed. Why did she keep thinking about it?  _Nothing's going to change…_

The doorbell rang then, and she smiled. Everything was going to be okay. She could just push all of that into the back of her mind and focus for now on music.

Except, it wasn't Cloud and Vincent on the other side, but Yuffie instead. Tifa smiled, but she felt little behind it.

"Hi there!"

"Oh, uhm… Hey."

"What's wrong?"

"I just wasn't expecting to see you here, that's all."

The younger girl's smile faltered. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. How was… whatever you guys did last night?"

"We just watched movies at my house," Yuffie said with a smile. "Cloud snored through the last half of one."

Tifa bit her lip. "Yeah, he does that." She looked around. "Is there anything else you need?"

Yuffie's grin faded even more. "Actually, no. Just wanted to make sure you were fine."

"I've never seen you come around before…"

"Your father usually answers the door. I knew he wasn't home, because my parents are back in town."

"Right." Tifa sighed. "Look, I have to finish setting up. And cleaning. You know…"

The other girl nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Yuffie turned around and saw Cloud and Vincent getting out of the car, each carrying a grocery bag. Vincent was on the phone. Yuffie intertwined her fingers, suddenly without an idea of what to say.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Tifa opened the door wider for Cloud, who was coming up behind Yuffie. He looked at her for a moment, before greeting her and walking inside.

Vincent nodded to Yuffie and barely uttered a word as he hung up the phone. She gulped.

"Hey Vincent. How are you?"

He stopped at the door. That was not the right question for the moment. "I'm… okay. How about you?"

"I'm good. Uhm…" She was trying to find something to say. Anything else to say.

"Hey, have you seen Aerith since last night?" He suddenly asked. "Or do you know if Zack has spoken to her? She has my ring. I let her hold it while we were over."

Yuffie blinked.  _Why is it always her?_

"No, I haven't seen nor spoken to her. But I'll pass it along through Zack."

"Thanks…" He looked back at the door. "Anyway, I have to go. You know, set up and everything."

"Yeah, sure. See you at school."

Vincent went through the door, angry with himself.  _I should have asked Zack that when I saw him! Not Yuffie…_ He never knew the right thing to say to that girl.

Cloud was already chowing down on a sandwich when he finally walked in. He looked at Vincent with a crooked smile. "What took you so long?"

"Shut up moron." He put the apple juice in the refrigerator for Tifa, who was sitting on the couch in the living room. He sat down. "Ham and cheese?"

She only nodded back, her eyes still closed. She felt very tired.

"With pasta salad?" he inquired teasingly.

"It's the only thing I could make quickly!" Tifa sighed, exasperated. "Sorry. I'm just not… Today's not proving to be the best day."

Vincent gave her a small smile. "I know. I've run into my own trouble." She raised an eyebrow at him, but he shook his head. "It's not worth getting into. I'll go eat. It smells delicious." He kissed her on the cheek before getting up. Tifa smiled.

The door opened again.

"Please, no applause lady and gentlemen."

She giggled at Aaron, then at Matt once he shoved his brother. "Oh but why not? You're so great!"

Matt snorted. "Don't entertain him."

"Well, have some sandwiches and pasta. We can start in a few. I've already eaten, so don't worry about me."

She leaned back into the sofa and closed her eyes, only to feel the weight shift next to her.

"You don't have to pay me back. It wasn't much."

Tifa nodded. She felt him his cool hand against her forehead, and side-eyed him.

"Just making sure you're alright. You seem exhausted. And you feel a bit warm."

She glared at him. "I'm  _fine_  Cloud. Stop it."

He sat back into the cushion. "So, what did Yuffie want?"

"Checking on me. Apparently she's done it before, but Dad's always answered the door."

"Mm…"

Tifa looked around. "Everyone good?"

Once she got verbal agreements from her companions, she grabbed her water bottle and headed for the basement.

"Better late than never right?" she declared.

_**/~/** _

Zack read a letter as his aunt and uncle gathered the last of their things.

"Have you seen Yuffie, Zachery?"

He mentally cringed. They were the only people here who called him that. "Nope. She'll be back soon though."

Yuffie's mother sighed. "We've told her about leaving without letting us know."

Zack just shrugged.

Godo came back into the room then. "Asuka, we have to leave now."

She nodded, grabbing her purse. The front door slammed.

"Oh, Yuffie dear!"

Asuka could clearly see that her was daughter irritated. She held her by the arms. Yuffie forced a smile.

"I just wanted to let you know that your father and I will be back in a few hours."

Yuffie just nodded back. She was not in the mood to speak, which was rare for her.

Asuka kissed her on the forehead and let her go.

"See you later dears!"

As soon as her parents left, Zack got up from the table. He gently put a hand on Yuffie's shoulder, who shrugged it off.

"Why does Tifa hate me?" she sighed.

"Why does Vincent hate me? Why does Tifa's dad hate Cloud? Why why why?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever Zack. Where are my parents going again?"

He shrugged. "Some social function. I was half listening."

Yuffie huffed. "I mean, every time I try to be nice, she blows me off! What did I ever do to her?"

"Dear, you're whining."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him. At her next thought, she slouched. "Vincent's looking for his ring by the way," she said sourly. "From Aerith." On the last part, she winced.

Zack cocked his head to the side. "Why don't you like Aerith? Hm?"

"It's not…  _her._ " She shook her head. "Never mind. Just forget it."

He sighed. He rarely saw his cousin this way, and he hated it. He hugged her.

"Come on, get off of me." This was not what she needed, for him to get sappy on her. She could take his sarcasm and everything with it, but not this. Yuffie pushed away and went upstairs.

Zack sat back down and continued to read the letter from his parents.  _Maybe I'll visit them on my next break._ He smiled at their words. He missed them.

She came back down a few moments later, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Next break, I'm visiting my folks."

Yuffie nodded back as she put headphones in her ears. "Maybe I'll go with." She searched for a song on her iPod. "I'm going for a run."

Zack chuckled. "They'd be glad to see you." He waved her goodbye as she went out the door.


	5. Friends Like These

**_Loud Whispers V – Friends Like These_ **

His alarm was blaring in his ears earlier than he appreciated. The weekend was gone.

He rolled over to shut it off, but before he could lift his hand, the noise was silenced.

"Thanks Vince," he mumbled.

Vincent sat up against Cloud's dresser. The night before, he'd fallen asleep reading on his friend's bedroom floor, and woke up in the middle of the night with a blanket and pillows.

"Thanks for making sure I didn't freeze."

Cloud muttered something else before turning back over and shrouding himself in more cover. Vincent left him alone, leaving the room to take a shower.

An hour and a half later, the two were on their way to school. Cloud asked Vincent to drive. Even though it was a short fifteen minutes, Cloud wanted to get as much sleep as he could before the day even started. And he didn't feel safe behind the wheel in his state.

When he parked, Vincent shook him awake.

"What time did you go to sleep?"

Cloud shrugged in reply. He opened the door to get out. "I don't know. After four, I think. You fell asleep around midnight."

Vincent sighed. "The insomnia?"

The blond only nodded in response, swinging his jacket over his shoulder. The bell for the first class rang.

_**/~/** _

Tifa turned the lock and pulled her locker open with a sigh. She hadn't spoken to her father since he left, and she sure did not like leaving things the way they had. Apologizing was not an option; she just wanted to know why. Even though it was a reoccurring issue, it still pestered her when she thought about it. They were her best friends after all.

"Morning!"

She looked beyond the steel door to a bright smile. The brunette's features softened.

"Good morning, Aerith. Had a good weekend?"

Aerith nodded. "Zack and I had dinner on Saturday. A  _romantic_  one. It was great. Much different from our other dates," she giggled. "I know, I sound so girly."

Tifa's smile widened. "No! That sounds great. Finally treating you like he should!"

They laughed quietly together, even though the halls were still full.

"So, your practice sessions went well?"

"Yeah." Tifa closed her locker, stuffing her book into her backpack. "Yep, everything went really well. We're having practice again tonight."

"Oh! Well, speaking of, have you seen Vincent? If I wasn't working this weekend, I was with Zack. I've been meaning to give him his ring back."

The brunette looked quizzically at her. "No, I haven't seen him or Cloud yet today. I think they're coming to school together."

"Oh… well, if you see him before –"

The bell rang then, cutting Aerith off.

"If you see him before me, let him know okay? See you later!" Aerith left Tifa with a wave.

Tifa waved back, before heading for her history class. She tried to be excited – it was her favorite subject – but she found enthusiasm difficult. Every time she thought of history, she thought of the people  _in_ her class with her.

Or rather, one girl in particular.

_Nope. Not today. I am not letting Priscilla ruin my day today. I woke up in a good mood, I saw Aerith and we talked, everything is going to be just fine today._

As she walked into class, she hummed a tune she had recently written. Priscilla was not there yet, and Tifa took her seat. The class was beginning to fill up, but she tried not to pay attention to who was coming in. She got her notebook and pen out of her bag and sat them on her desk, before rummaging around some more.

A tap on the shoulder alerted her. She looked up to see Zack smiling at her as he walked to his seat in the next row. She gave him a slight wave, before sitting up straight. In the corner of her eye, she saw  _her._

_Good day… Good day… Good day…_

"Good morning class!"

Tifa focused on the teacher, her gaze unwavering. The lights were turned down a few moments later. A documentary appeared on the projector screen.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Priscilla giggling with a boy on her other side. Tifa huffed and took notes from the movie. Priscilla glanced at her and smiled. She began to take her own notes.

"You can't have him Lockheart. He's mine."

Tifa ignored her comment, furiously writing down information. The other girl scoffed.

"Oh, come on Tifa. Don't be selfish. You can't have all the men to yourself."

The brunette paused, then muttered, "I think you already have that taken care of."

Priscilla snickered. "Please. At least I don't lie to my friends. They know my flaws. You try to hide everything from them. What kind friend are you supposed to be?"

Tifa huffed.  _A good day does not involve kicking people in the face. That is frowned upon by society._

"So you're proud of being a slut?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "I always know what I'm doing. I'm not a drunk  _whore._ "

Tifa's gaze snapped to Priscilla, who smiled immodestly and went back to her conversation with the boy. Tifa could feel the heat rising in her face, but devoted her attention backs to the screen in front of her.

Zack watched this interaction from a few rows behind.  _What was that about?_ He knew Priscilla and Tifa didn't like each other – he could tell just by being in this class every other day.  _Well that was quite interesting…_

At least he was more entertained than most days in history; otherwise, he would be asleep.  _A nap sounds good actually._

Minutes later, the bell awoke him from his slumber.

"We'll be continuing this documentary next class. Have a nice day!" the teacher tried to shout as people bustled out of the room.

Tifa gathered her things slowly to avoid another confrontation at the door. Once she saw Priscilla was gone, she sighed. Now she had a headache, and it was only her first class. The next wasn't going to give her much help in her current mental state.

In the hallway, a hand gently grabbed her shoulder. She looked up to see Zack.

"Saw you talking to Pris."

Tifa snorted. "Saw you were asleep again."

"Hey now, let's not change the subject." He smiled at her. "Why don't you like her? I mean, I know her reputation, but I just ignore the bitch. You two really go at it!"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have to like everyone Zack. And she annoys a lot of people, not just me." She sighed. "I have to go to math okay? See you at lunch?"

He nodded. "Of course!" he called over the crowd with a wave.

_Ugh, great. That's what I need. A hound on the trail!_

Since she had to pass by her locker again to get to her class, she stopped to put her history book away. As soon as she turned around, someone was hugging her.

"How was history?"

She groaned into his chest. He let her go.

"What happened?"

Tifa just shook her head, closing her locker. "I'd rather not. Let's just move on with our day, the past is the past, blah blah blah." She began to walk toward the end of the hall.

Cloud laughed at her. "Feel good today?"

She nodded. "Yes. Fully recovered! How's Vincent? Has he been home?"

"No. He refuses to go until he runs out of clothes again—"

He stopped when he noticed her staring into his face. Cloud raised a brow.

She was beginning to see creases under his eyes.

"Tifa…"

"You're still not sleeping, are you?"

He sighed. "I'll be okay." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled softly. "Come on, let's go to math class. We like math class."

Tifa groaned again.

**/~/**

Zack sat in his seat, trying his hardest to listen. But Hojo was just so hard to listen to.

_Does he just drone on and on? And half the crap he says is crazy! How did he get hired…?_

Vincent was a few rows away. Zack chanced a few peeks at the him, who looked even less enthused than he felt.  _More like bored out of his mind._

"We will be doing a dissection today. Find a partner – do not delay."

Zack smiled, taking the opportunity. As students moved to the back of the room with the tables, he slid into the seat across from Vincent at one of them.

"No, Zack, what are you doing?" He almost seemed to beg him to leave.

"Hey there, Vincent. How's your morning going?"

"Worse now," he muttered. Some students were distributing lab equipment.

"Oh, don't be that way. Why do you dislike me so?"

Vincent didn't answer.

"Well, I wanted to move on anyway. What's up with Tifa and Priscilla?"

Vincent blinked. "What?"

He looked up at Zack. The latter repeated his question. Vincent replied with a shrug. "I don't really know. Tifa doesn't talk about it much. Why?"

Zack sighed, resting his chin in his palm. "Guess I'm just curious. They nearly ripped each other's throats out last period. I thought Tifa was going to have an aneurysm."

Vincent side-eyed him.

"Okay, maybe it wasn't  _that_ drastic, but I assume you know what kind of tension I'm talking about?"

The red-eyed boy nodded, but did not say anything. He didn't know what to say. For one, he didn't want to talk to Zack in the first place, but especially about something so sensitive. Even though he and Tifa were friends, there are just some things that people should be able to keep to themselves.

"Vincent?"

He sighed. "I don't know, alright? Like I said, Tifa doesn't talk about Priscilla if she can help it. She just… I guess she tries to ignore her existence."

Zack hummed quietly in consideration.

Vincent left the table to retrieve the rats they were supposed to be dissecting, now that they were available. He did not want to talk anymore – he didn't want to speak in the first place.

 _Please don't ask me anymore questions_ , he though sourly.

He sat back down at their end of the table, placing the tray in the middle of them.

"So, you really don't know?"

Vincent growled at him then, picking up a scalpel.

"Well, I guess you don't know…"

_**/~/** _

_Finally. Reprieve!_

Zack bit into his sandwich as he waved Cloud over from a few tables away. They greeted one another in a unique handshake, before Cloud sat down. He yawned.

"You look as bored as I've been. My day doesn't really start until after lunch unfortunately."

Cloud smiled. "I see…"

Zack sighed. "Yeah. History's boring. And Hojo freaks me the hell out."

"I'm just glad I didn't get him this year."

"Lucky bastard…"

Cloud laughed, crossing his arms on the table and resting his chin. "Is he really that bad?"

Zack threw his hands up in exasperation. "He's creepy!" He shook his head. "You know how you have to do research in college for science degrees? I would never volunteer as a test subject for him."

"Wow, Zack. I never knew  _anything_ got to you like that."

He laughed. "Oh no, Cloud. No natural thing does. Hojo's just not natural, that's all." Zack drummed his fingers on the table in thought. "Can I ask you something?"

Cloud raised a brow. "Hm?"

"What's the deal? I mean, do Tifa and Priscilla really hate each other that much, or am I just hallucinating?"

The blond raised his head, alert. "What happened?"

Zack shrugged. "Not too sure. I could have sworn Tifa was going to jump across the desk though."

"You're exaggerating."

"Maybe I am…"

He sighed. "It's complicated, Zack. They actually used to be friends."

Zack's eyes widened. "No."

Cloud only nodded in response. A second later, he looked up and smiled.

Zack's vision was covered by what he assumed to be hands. A girl giggled behind him. He grinned.

"Hello Aerith dear. I was just thinking of you."

Cloud put his head back down on the table. Aerith sat down next to Zack and kissed him on the cheek.

"Was he really Cloud?"

"Of course. He thinks of nothing else."

Aerith laughed. "Right," she drawled, before taking out her lunch. "So, how's everything going with you, Cloud?"

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Not really much to say; it's only Monday. How was work?"

She smiled brighter. "It was wonderful. The flowers are really coming in well at this time of the year. It's much different from Kalm."

"How so?"

"Well, usually the flowers that are blooming here now don't do so until the spring there. It's opposite here." She took a few bites of soup. "But, I like this season. All the changes…"

Zack finished his sandwich. "I love hearing you talking about the shop. It's beautiful."

She looked at him. "Oh Zack, please don't start getting sappy now!"

He laughed and hugged her, kissing her forehead. She giggled.

"Cloud, aren't you going to eat anything?" Aerith asked once she realized he didn't have a lunch.

"Not hungry. I'll probably eat later during class or something."

She nodded. "It's the early period, isn't it?"

_**/~/** _

Yuffie walked toward the courtyard with every intention of eating and studying. Usually she could multitask and ignore the circus around her, and she figured that today should not be much different. Besides that, she enjoyed the sun.

"Hey!"

She turned around to watch Priscilla walk up to her.

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I called you the other day! You okay?"

Yuffie's brow furrowed. "Yeah… Oh!" She shook her head. "Sorry, I was at Tifa's. And I've been studying all weekend for a test next period."

Priscilla's eyes narrowed. "Why were you at her house?"

"To make sure she was okay. She was really sick on Friday." Yuffie inwardly sighed.  _Why am I explaining myself to her?_

The other girl shrugged. "Whatever." She looked at her nails before asking, "She seems to get sick a lot, doesn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

Priscilla looked behind her and smiled. "Nothing. Anyway, I have to go. Get some notes from Rick. I'll see you later!"

Yuffie watched her walk away and toward a guy down the hall, before they turned around a corner and out of sight. She shook her head again.  _Why does this day seem so long already?_

Once outside, she looked for a table near a corner with little to no people. As she scanned the grounds, the first person she noticed was Vincent coming in from the other side. His eyes were downcast, his head bobbing lightly to the music playing through his headphones. Yuffie waved to catch his attention when he looked up, but he didn't see her.

Instead, his gaze left the ground and went straight to his left – and to a table.

Yuffie followed his eyes, and slouched slightly. Aerith was leaving the table and meeting him halfway. She smiled at him as he took the headphones off and let them hang from around his neck. Yuffie couldn't hear what they were saying, and a moment later she saw Aerith take a ring off of her finger and hand it back to him. He slipped it on before joining arms with her and heading for their table.

She found that she was barely hungry anymore.  _I'll just go to the library instead…_

She heard someone call her name, but ignored it as she walked back into the school. A girl ran right into her as she turned the corner, and she dropped her book.

"I'm sorry!"

Yuffie huffed, wondering why she was apologizing.  _I was watching where I was going!_  She realized then that it was Tifa.

"No, I am. I was reading something." Tifa bent down and grabbed the book, handing it back to her. "Sorry Yuffie."

Yuffie have her a small smile. "It's fine. You look a lot better Tifa."

The girl blinked. "Thank you…?"

She wanted to smack herself. "Not that you… don't usually. I just mean…"

"Oh!" Tifa smiled back at her. "Thanks. Yeah…" She shook her head. "Sorry, again. I'm a bit scatterbrained right now. Just have a lot on my mind."

"No, it's cool!" Yuffie adjusted her grip on her book. "I need to go study anyway. I'll see you around."

Tifa bit her lip. "Uhm, yeah. Sure Yuffie."

_**/~/** _

"Yuffie! Hey!"

When Zack turned around to greet Aerith and Vincent, he spotted his cousin near the west entrance of the school.  _She never really eats with us._

"Yuffie!"

But, as if she didn't hear him, she walked back inside.

Zack huffed, turning back to their little group. "Do I not shout loud enough?"

Cloud laughed. "It's a pretty big courtyard with a lot of people Zack."

"He still talks really loud," Vincent mumbled. Aerith snickered, patting Zack on the hand.

"Hopefully she can join us tomorrow!"

Vincent nodded, before giving a slight wave to their approaching friend. She seemed in a hurry as she slid in the seat next to Cloud. He moved over to give her more room.

"What time is it?"

Zack checked his watch. Tifa groaned.

"There's only ten minutes left in lunch?!"

Cloud looked at her out of the corner of his eye, before taking a bag of chips out of his book bag. "Where have you been? You disappeared after math."

She took a deep breath. "I've been running all over this school looking for Ms. Crescent. She gave our papers back on Friday, and I left before that class."

"Doesn't she usually eat in the teacher's lounge?" Vincent asked.

Tifa exhaled loudly. "Well, I went there, and they told me she wasn't there. Then, I went to her classroom, but it was locked. I went to the office, and they said she was in a meeting. On my way back here, I ran into her and she gave it to me!" She sighed again. "So, here I am!"

"Happy to have you!" Aerith rejoined.

As Tifa ate her food, she remembered her previous encounter.

"Hey, Yuffie seemed kind of down. Is she okay Zack?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she just has a test today. Maybe that's why she went back inside. Didn't think studying out here was a good idea."

"Hm…" She bit her lip. "Yeah, I kind of rammed right into her looking at my essay."

Zack burst into laughter. Cloud and Aerith smiled.

"How did you do that?! She's not  _that_  small!" Zack roared.

"I don't know! I didn't mean to!" Tifa buried her face in her hands as the others laughed. She felt a smile creep onto her face, before she suddenly succumbed to the laugher that had spread around the table. When lunch was finally over, she didn't even register that she had barely eaten her food.

_**/~/** _

_Finally._

Another ten minutes and he might have died across his desk. His ancient civilization class bored him near to tears. Aerith took a supreme interest in it that he could not understand, but when test time came around, she proved to be extremely useful.

Grabbing his backpack, Cloud slung it across one shoulder and departed the classroom as the bell chimed overhead. He was elated that the day was over, but anxious to make it back home.

He exited the school through a door down the hall from the class. The sun was warm but he could feel the familiar chilly winds of fall.  _The snows will start soon._  He sighed.

Someone howled a few yards away, in the parking lot. He narrowed his eyes and glanced in the general direction, though he already knew who the culprits were.

"Cloud!"

He continued to ignore the person calling his name, though it was no use. When he walked into the parking lot, someone draped an arm around his shoulders and began to yank him in the opposite direction of his car.

"Hey buddy. Let me talk to you for a second."

"Thomas, I really don't have time for this."

"Sure you do. I've missed a couple of months of school, you can spare a few minutes with me can't you?"

Cloud swore. Thomas had just got out about a week ago and he was already causing trouble.  _This cannot be anything good._

"Are you trying to go back?"

Thomas shoved him against a car. "Are you trying to get hurt? I wouldn't have gone the last time hadn't it been for you."

He had to laugh. "You couldn't have thought that I would join you on that ride."

"Come on Cloud, you can trust us. With friends like these, who needs enemies?" Thomas gave him a snarling smile. "How about we take another ride? Just me and you. No witnesses."

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I don't swing that way."

Thomas swung at his face but Cloud hit it away. Someone wrapped an arm around his. He looked up.

"Excuse me Thomas, I need to borrow Cloud. He only swings that way for me. Sorry to let you down."

Vincent pulled his friend away from the fury in a heartbeat. Cloud would have laughed had it not been for his current mood.

"Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

Vincent shrugged. "Sure, I did. My purpose in life is to ruin yours remember?" He hugged Cloud's arm tighter. "Now everyone can think we're gay lovers and best friends. Isn't that splendid?"

Cloud pushed him away laughing. "Yeah, just great." He checked the time on his watch. "Hey, are you going home with Tifa?"

Vincent nodded. "Yeah, I was planning on it. You headed home?"

"I need to pick up my stuff. I'll meet you guys there."

"Sure thing."

Cloud climbed into his car. A few minutes later he pulled out of the school and began the drive home. His mom would still be at work at this point, that much he knew. And by now the mail should have been delivered…

He was right on both accounts. Cloud immediately went for the mailbox and rushed into the house to search among the various envelopes. But none were addressed to him. In a rage, he threw all of the mail against the kitchen wall with a shout.

_It's been a month! And nothing…_

He sighed.  _Band practice._ Cloud decided he would focus on something else for now. He could worry about a lost letter later.


End file.
